Legal advice

[Cookieson]

Has anyone had any restoration work carried out on their pride and joy which has turned out to be sub standard or poorly carried out? If so did you seek legal advice or can you give me any advice on who to turn to if trying to claim some of the hard earned cash back?
I have spoken to citizens advice and trading standards but wonder if anyone has any other ideas?

 

[chad]

Some more information might be of help:

e.g.

Is there anything in writing?
Was there any priority set, for example to be complete by a certain date or a cash limit of £x?
Who provided the parts?
What communication took place during the course of the work?
what were the payment terms?
who has stated that the work is sub-standard or poorly carried out?
was there any sort of warranty / guarantee discussed?

 

[Lordain Volley]

Hello,
Your first port of call ought to be your contract for the work. This will clearly define the specific work you want done on the vehicle, and what the cost will be for the service (professional work) carried out by the garage or restorer.

This need not be a fancy written contract, but let's say a quote with an itinerary or schedule for the work to be undertaken. It might also be an exchange of e-mails but clearly this form of evidence is ambiguous and leads to all sorts of uncertainty.

Most restorers are frankly a but cute and sill add a caveat such as "this quote may change and is not a definitive guide". This way if they take longer they can use this to justify added costs etc.

However, irrespective of the above,there are certain statutory obligations (that's a law passed by Parliament, " a statute"), which protects consumers who enter in to consumer contracts. A consumer contract is a contract for either goods or services with a retailer or company.

The two key laws are:
The Sale Goods Act 1979 as amended
The Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982

There are other statutes such as the distance selling regulations etc which protect purchases over the net, but the key law that affords you protection is the SGSA 1982:

http://www.which.co.uk/consumer-rights/regulation/supply-of-goods-and-services-act-1982" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Click on the link shove it will explain in for you.

If the service is not of satisfactory standard need not pay or can demand a reduction
The quality of the work must slso be carried out with a reasonable standard if care too.

Petrochelli

 

[Pickles]

Draw some comfort from knowing you're not the first and unlikely to be the last person to find themselves in such a situation.

Someone else beat me to the quoting of the relevant acts

I assume it was done by someone appertaining to operate a business? Hopefully you have something in writing describing the extent of the service they were expected to perform.

Have you first been back to them and said I'm not happy with x, y & z and expect you to put this right at your expense, or give me £xxx so I can get someone else to put it right.

Thereafter depends upon your resolve to get sorted and how easy it is to prove that they haven't carried out the service with reasonable care and skill.

If they aren't willing to accept your criticism and request for money back then I can't see much you can do without heading off to the small claims court and whether that's worth it will depend upon the evidence and whether the person you are suing has the money to pay you.

 

[Lordain Volley]

Hi,
Agree with all the other comments. All good. Be clear about what you wanted or expected, and be clear about what remedy you now desire. Always quote the law, that is to say the section of the relevant statute, and what that says your entitled to. Back this up with your own paper evidence.

If that falls on deaf ears, issue a letter before action and sue them in the small claims, I recall it's for claims up to 10k. It's a relatively easy procedure, you do not need to be a lawyer, just follow the instructions online and be patient. This tends to focus their minds considerably, and also tends to tighten up their sphincter some what.

Costs are relatively low, and if you win, they get a ccj which makes it impossible for them to get credit.

LV

 

[KevH]

I would not disagree with any of what has already been said, but bear in mind that once things get formal they may get nasty and there is no going back.

Personally my first port of call would be to talk to the fella concerned, face to face, to point out some of the issues that you are unhappy with, and to ask him what he thinks, making it clear you are unhappy but not making any allegations of duff workmanship. It could have been a bad batch of metal, or whatever. He might simply say he will put it right, he might barter or he might argue the toss. But at least give him that opportunity. It would be unfair to hit him with a formal letter before he has that chance, surely.

It might also be a good opportunity to check that what you asked for was what he heard; it may simply be an interpretation issue (yep, been there, got the t-shirt). And you might be in the wrong on that point (sorry to piss on the party).

I am guessing that you may not have a written quote and a detailed spec, which even if it does exist will probably be subject to whatever is revealed once the paint comes off. So a lot of this is down to who remembers the other saying what, which is not a good basis for a potential legal remedy.

Just my opinions.

Good luck.

 

[Shavey]

Have to agree with KevH. Better to talk and work this through, should get it turned around quicker.

 

[chad]

^^^
WHS

Also where is the bus? Have you got it back or is it still at the place it has been worked on?

 

[Cookieson]

Hi and Thank you all for the points and advice.

Yes I have the bus back and paid in full, its a long story and one I wish to be a little quiet about at the moment. Maybe until or if things get sorted.

Thanks once again for your advice

 

[Spoony73]

Hello

If it helps I have just received the same level of sub standard service from a garage I used to do some restore work myself.

The garage was just to busy, my van was rushed that meant I got it back with a very substandard finish on a lot of the work carried out and I was not aloud to take it back until I had paid in full.

I have managed to put right most of the work, I have tried to call, email and text the garage but with no reply.

I still have a lot of restore work to do which just means they will not get anymore of my hard earned cash.

 

[jonboylaw]

Why would you settle for that level of service? Phone your local trading standards and speak to someone about it. They may contact the garage for you and you may get a resolution. You have statutory rights and the garage is in the wrong. It is not like you will use the garage again so you have nothing to lose.


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